Obamas presented as symbol of American Dream

DENVER - Turning the personal into the political, Democrats opened their national convention Monday with a series of testimonials to Barack Obama and a preview of sharp attacks on his Republican opponent, John McCain.

It was a parade of the past and future. Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts - in the twilight of his 45-year career - vouched for Obama, who dawned on the national stage just four years ago. And in the role of chief character witness was Obama's wife, Michelle, who pitched herself and her husband as symbols of the American Dream and declared, "I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president."

But just below the surface, tensions continued to stir between supporters of the Illinois senator and former rival Hillary Clinton. The chief irritant Monday was former President Bill Clinton, whom a former adviser said was upset over the topic of his Wednesday night speech.

The mission of the convention's first day was clear and two-pronged: to build an image of Barack Obama as a candidate Americans could embrace and to begin the task of ripping McCain apart.

"I want to make the choice between myself and John McCain as clear as possible," Obama said at a news conference in Iowa. "I don't want people to be confused."

The getting-to-know-you phase featured several branches of Obama's family tree on the podium, including his brother-in-law, his half sister and several longtime friends and associates from his adopted home state.

But the advocate-in-chief was Michelle Obama, who reached for the transcendence of her husband's 2004 convention speech - an address that galvanized Democrats and launched his national political career.

"Barack doesn't care where you're from, or what your background is, or what party - if any - you belong to," she said. "That's not how he sees the world. He knows that thread that connects us, our belief in America's promise, our commitment to our children's future, is strong enough to hold us together as one nation even when we disagree."

Michelle Obama, a graduate of Princeton, stressed her blue-collar South Side Chicago upbringing and her concerns for her daughters' future. She described meeting her husband and discovering that despite his "funny name" they shared the values of working hard and treating people with respect. And to those who would question her patriotism, Obama offered a long and passionate paean to America's possibility, ending with the affirmation, "That is why I love this country."

She also reached out to Clinton's supporters, lauding the New York senator even before she praised his husband's new running mate, Joseph Biden. The votes cast for Clinton in the primaries, Obama said, "put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our daughters - and sons - can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher."

When she was done, her husband appeared on a giant video screen from Kansas City, Mo., where he watched the speech at the home of supporters. He joked about how hard it was to get her to go out with him, adding that voters want a "persistent president" and that was proof how persistent he could be.

The couple's two daughters also watched on stage, with the outgoing Sasha, 7, grabbing a microphone to say "Hi Daddy."

The emotional high point of the evening, however, was a surprise appearance by Kennedy, 76, who is battling brain cancer. He walked gingerly across the Pepsi Center stage, flashing a thumbs-up to delegates who gave him a standing ovation.

Looking out on a sea of blue and white Kennedy signs, he summoned memories of his brother, the late President John F. Kennedy, and the man-on-the-moon challenge he laid down for America. He urged Americans to "rise to our best ideals" in the election and offered Obama as the embodiment.

Clinton issued a statement strongly endorsing Obama, again. Publicly, the two camps worked to minimize any hint of hard feelings. "There is no stronger surrogate for Senator Obama than Senator Clinton," Valerie Jarrett, a friend and one of Obama's closest advisers, told reporters - though Jarrett allowed as how "it may take a little time for some people to come around."

Aides to the Clintons and Obama continued to take private potshots and grumble about perceived slights, including Bill Clinton's scheduled speech on national security. A former adviser to the Clintons said the former president was not happy being told he should stick to that topic. "He is uniquely positioned to talk about the economy and can bolster Obama in this way," the former adviser said.